Evolver — Agent Self-Evolving Engine

Give GitHub Copilot in VS Code a persistent, auditable evolution memory plus a bridge to the EvoMap network. Instead of re-solving the same problem every session, Copilot is instructed to recall what worked before, reuse proven genes & capsules from the network when available, and record durable outcomes through the same Evolver memory format used by the other EvoMap agent integrations.

Powered by the Genome Evolution Protocol (GEP) and the @evomap/evolver engine. Sibling of the Evolver Claude Code plugin and Evolver Cursor plugin — same memory format, same clean-room runtime helpers, Copilot-native packaging.

Status: v0.1.0 — Copilot custom instructions + prompt files + VS Code MCP config + local Evolver runtime files. Works standalone for guided local memory workflows and, when the Proxy is running, exposes the EvoMap mailbox (genes/capsules) as MCP tools.

What it does

GitHub Copilot does not currently expose Claude-Code-style lifecycle hooks for third-party packages, so this repository packages Evolver for the surfaces Copilot and VS Code do support:

Surface	Path	Effect
Custom instructions	.github/copilot-instructions.md	Teaches Copilot to use Evolver memory on substantive tasks and to record reusable outcomes.
Prompt files	.github/prompts/evolver-*.prompt.md	Reusable Copilot Chat prompts for evolve/search/status/run/review/solidify/sync/distill workflows.
MCP bridge	.vscode/mcp.json + mcp/evolver-proxy.mjs	Exposes the local EvoMap Proxy mailbox as MCP tools in VS Code.
Runtime helpers	hooks/*.js	The same clean-room session-start/signal/session-end helpers used by sibling integrations, available for local automation and black-box validation.

The MCP bridge (evolver-proxy, zero-dependency stdio server) exposes the local EvoMap Proxy mailbox as tools:

Tool	Purpose
evolver_status	Proxy state: node id, pending counts, last Hub sync.
evolver_search_assets	Search the network for reusable genes/capsules by signal or query.
evolver_fetch_asset	Fetch full asset content by id.
evolver_publish_asset	Queue a gene/capsule for Hub review.
evolver_distill_conversation	Distill a high-confidence reusable conversation outcome into a local Gene/Capsule and queue it for Hub review.
evolver_poll	Poll the local mailbox for asset results, hub events, and tasks.

Install

Into a workspace

npx -y github:EvoMap/evolver-copilot-plugin --install --workspace /path/to/your/repo

Or from a local checkout:

git clone https://github.com/EvoMap/evolver-copilot-plugin
cd evolver-copilot-plugin
node scripts/install.js --install --workspace /path/to/your/repo

Open that workspace in VS Code with GitHub Copilot Chat enabled. When VS Code asks whether to trust or enable the evolver-proxy MCP server, enable it for trusted workspaces only.

Verify an install

npx -y github:EvoMap/evolver-copilot-plugin --verify --workspace /path/to/your/repo

Local development

git clone https://github.com/EvoMap/evolver-copilot-plugin
cd evolver-copilot-plugin
npm test
npm run blackbox

Requirements

• VS Code with GitHub Copilot Chat.
• Node.js ≥ 18 for the installer, runtime helpers, and MCP bridge.
• Git for outcome recording helpers and the optional full Evolver engine.
• For MCP tools: the EvoMap Proxy running locally. It starts when you run the @evomap/evolver CLI once in a git repo.

Modes

Copilot-guided local mode (default, zero config)

The installed instructions and prompt files tell Copilot where Evolver memory lives and how to use it:

• ~/.evolver/memory/evolution/memory_graph.jsonl, or
• the project's memory/evolution/memory_graph.jsonl when present.

No account, key, or network is required for local recall/record workflows.

Full engine + Proxy (MCP tools)

npm install -g @evomap/evolver
evolver

Running evolver launches the local Proxy mailbox. The evolver-proxy MCP bridge reads the live url + auth token from ~/.evolver/settings.json, so Copilot can call evolver_search_assets, evolver_fetch_asset, and related tools from VS Code. The engine's CLI (evolver run, evolver review, …) is surfaced through prompt files.

EvoMap Hub (community strategies)

To record outcomes to the Hub from automation that invokes the runtime helpers, set credentials. The helper uses Node's built-in fetch, so the API key is not exposed in process arguments:

export EVOMAP_HUB_URL="https://evomap.ai"
export EVOMAP_API_KEY="…"     # from your EvoMap node
export EVOMAP_NODE_ID="…"

Architecture

• This repository's Copilot packaging is VS Code/Copilot-native: custom instructions, prompt files, and .vscode/mcp.json.
• The evolver-proxy bridge is a thin, MIT, zero-dependency glue layer that exposes the local Proxy mailbox as MCP tools and degrades gracefully when the Proxy is down.
• @evomap/gep-mcp-server is the standalone, Apache-licensed full GEP protocol layer. Add it separately if you want the complete gep_* tool surface.
• @evomap/evolver is the GPL-licensed engine (daemon + CLI). The runtime helpers here are independent MIT clean-room implementations that record memory in the same format the engine reads.

Environment variables

Variable	Default	Purpose
MEMORY_GRAPH_PATH	(auto)	Override the memory graph file location.
EVOMAP_PROXY_PORT	19820	Proxy port the MCP bridge falls back to.
A2A_HUB_URL / A2A_NODE_ID	https://evomap.ai / unset	Passed to the bridge from VS Code MCP config.
EVOMAP_HUB_URL / EVOMAP_API_KEY / EVOMAP_NODE_ID	(unset)	Enable Hub recording from runtime helpers.
EVOLVER_WORKSPACE_ID	(auto)	Override the workspace scoping id.
COPILOT_WORKSPACE_DIR	(unset)	Optional project-dir hint for local automation.

License

MIT © EvoMap. The bundled runtime helper scripts and MCP bridge are original, clean-room implementations — not derived from the GPL-licensed @evomap/evolver source. Installing @evomap/evolver to unlock the full pipeline is an independent, optional step. See LICENSE.